A presentation at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) 2016 Congress gave patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) a reason for optimism, as Novartis reported that siponimod (BAF312) reduced the risk of disability progression in a Phase 3 study of patients with secondary progressive (SP) MS.

Novartis recently announced positive results from the ACROSS study, which is assessing the clinical effect of Gilenya (fingolimod) in 10-year disability outcomes in people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The results were presented at the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) Sept. 14-17 in London. The ACROSS study…

Patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) who were treated with BAF312 (siponimod), a sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) inhibitor, in a Phase 3 clinical trial showed a  significantly reduced risk for disability progression compared to placebo, Novartis recently announced. BAF312 is a selective modulator of specific types of the S1P receptor. This receptor is…

Genmab announced plans to soon begin a Phase 3 clinical trial program assessing the subcutaneous formulation of ofatumumab as a potential treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The company, working in collaboration with its partner Novartis, will begin enrolling patients in September in trials that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of ofatumumab compared…

Researchers at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Washington and Novartis Pharma revealed that Gilenya (fingolimod) induced a consistent and significant reduction in disease activity in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). The results were recently presented at the June 1-4 Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2016 Annual…

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is welcoming Novartis Pharmaceuticals, for a fifth consecutive year, as a leading national sponsor of Walk MS, its annual fundraising and awareness-raising event. This year’s walks will also again feature the musician and multiple sclerosis (MS) ambassador David Osmond leading the society’s as part…

When Microsoft rolled out its original Kinect system for playing Xbox video games in November 2010, the technology caught the eye of giant multinational healthcare company Novartis. A longstanding research challenge for Novartis has been to devise and design more consistent methods of quantifying whether multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments…

In a recent study entitled “Myeloid cells as target of fingolimod action in multiple sclerosis,” a team of scientists investigated the impact of fingolimod (Gilenya, Novartis), an approved drug for multiple sclerosis (MS), on the reactivity of myeloid cells, a key group that comprises several immune cells that…

On October 8, 2015, data on two Phase III clinical trials called FREEDOMS and FREEDOMS II on Gilenya (fingolimod), a drug developed by Novartis, were presented at the 31st Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), currently being held in Barcelona, Spain (October 7-10).

Icometrix, a leader in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers for multiple sclerosis (MS), has recently announced a collaboration agreement with Novartis Pharma AG regarding MSmetrix – a measurement tool especially designed to assess brain volume and atrophy, as well as existing, new or enlarging brain lesions in MS patients. Monitoring…

Pharmaceutical giant Novartis recently announced it has signed an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for exclusive rights to GSK’s investigational CD20-specific monoclonal antibody, Ofatumumab, indicated for relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and other autoimmune diseases. Novartis had previously acquired rights to the drug for its indications in oncology, effectively marketing it under brand name Arzerra®.

A survey of 97 neurologists conducted in June 2015 revealed specialists within the field of neurology are increasingly avoiding prescribing injectables to patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, as orally-available disease modifying-agents (DMAs) continue to gain in popularity. The survey was conducted and reported by Spherix Global Insights, a newly established business…

Multiple sclerosis patients prescribed Gilenya (fingolimod) are now being informed about a handful of documented cases where the therapy was found to have led to a rare brain infection, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has released a public warning indicating that cases of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) have been…

Fingolimod, also known by its brand name Gilenya, is an oral immunotherapy approved for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS). In a recent study published in the Journal PLOS One, a team of researchers found that the autonomic cardiovascular dysfunction in MS patients with delayed heart ratere-acceleration…

UK-based MS Trust has announced the launch of new awards designed to distinguish healthcare professionals that are committed to treating and changing the lives of patients who suffer from multiple sclerosis (MS). The QuDos Awards are currently open for nominations and will feature ten different categories. The QuDoS in MS Awards –…

Most employers these days talk about having workforce diversity oriented policies that support hiring people living with disabilities and chronic diseases, but what distinguishes rhetoric from reality? What in positive, practical terms can companies do in support of helping people living with visible or invisible challenges find and keep gainful…

Novartis will present novel Gilenya data, demonstrating the company’s methods for assessing the impact of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS) in both patients and physicians, during the 67th Annual Meeting of American Academy of Neurology (AAN) that will take place in Washington, DC between the 18th and the 25th of April, 2015. The data will…

Novartis International recently provided an update on its fingolimod Phase III trial evaluating the use of the drug in primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), reporting that the study did not reveal any significant benefits of prescribing fingolimod over a placebo. However, results regarding…

A member of the musical Osmond family, David Osmond, recently released a music video for his inspirational song “I Can Do This.” He has dedicated it to men and women all over the world who are faced with challenges that make them doubt their abilities and self-worth, but the real…

The U.S. Supreme Court deliberated on a request from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. to preserve the patent of its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone from generic competitors until September 2015. Recent reports indicate that the court gave the company a mixed opinion. The hearing occurred this…

This past Wednesday, September 10th, the largest, most anticipated multiple sclerosis (MS) convention — the 6th Joint ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS Triennial Meeting, MSBoston 2014 — kicked off with a whopping 8,000 registered attendees, all eager to learn more about the latest developments in MS. One of the highlights of the event…

Those attending this week’s ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS convention set to take place on the 10th of September until the 13th in Boston, can expect Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to present promising findings on Gilenya (fingolimod) — the company’s leading oral formulation for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS). In previously completed studies and clinical trials,…

Novartis has announced that it will present new analyses and redefined treatment goals for multiple sclerosis (MS) at the 2014 Joint Americas and European Committees for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Meeting (ACTRIMS-ECTRIMS), which is taking place in Boston, between September 10 and 13. Novartis claims to have…

The Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) is considering a funding proposal that includes five treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS), namely two key MS drugs,  Biogen‘s Tysabri and Novartis‘ Gilenya, that are not currently funded. PHARMAC is the New Zealand Crown agency that decides, on behalf of District…

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) initiated a clinical trial to evaluate the antihistamine clemastine fumarate, manufactured by Novartis as Tavist, for its efficacy in treating multiple sclerosis patients. The laboratory of Dr. Jonah Chan, a professor of neurology at UCSF, used a high-throughput method to identify Tavist…

A team of researchers from the University of Saint Louis has found a molecular pathway involved in a painful chemotherapy side effects, and a drug that might be able to stop it. Paclitaxel (also known as Taxol) is a chemotherapy drug commonly used to treat different forms of cancer…

Pharmaceutical company Novartis and health tracking and analytics platform Tictrac recently partnered up to support World Multiple Sclerosis Day and raise awareness for this disease by launching the campaign The 7-Day Challenge to Live Like You. The challenge, one of the first integrations of emerging technological trends by a pharmaceutical…